A wide variety of automated bagging systems are currently in use for packaging oranges, apples, potatoes, ice and other similar types of produce and fungible goods. These systems boost efficiency and productivity by making possible the handling of large quantities of a product in an orderly fashion while at the same time minimizing labor costs.
Many bagging systems use bags made from petroleum based plastics such as polyurethane or polyethylene. These bags often are mounted in large numbers on wickets, clamps or other devices that allow the bagging system to access the bags in an assembly-line manner. A typical bagging system pulls bags off one at a time and opens each bag individually. The system then fills the bag with a product. The product is supplied by a dispensing mechanism typically consisting of a conveyor belt supply that carries the product from a remote location to a chute that funnels the product into the bag. A tying mechanism then closes the bag and removes the bag to make room for the next bag off of the wicket. The process is then repeated with the next bag.
One example of this type of automatic bagger is discussed in Germunson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,822,527. Germunson relates to an automated bagging system that opens standard wicketed bags by an initial blast of air followed by the insertion of an expandable scoop. After the initial blast of high pressure air, the expandable scoop enters the bag and supports the bag edge opposite the wicketed bag stand to provide a wide opening for material, such as fruit, to enter the open bag. The scoop includes a pair of scoop halves that are pivoted at their upper ends on a bracket. When the scoop halves are collapsed, they fit easily inside the opened top of the bag. When expanded, the scoop halves support and hold the bag open as well as guide articles into the opened bag. A pair of releasable clamps hold the bag edge corresponding to the wicket side of the bag. These clamps support the bag as articles are introduced into the bag. Only the scoop supports the bag opposite the wicketed side. However, the scoop tends to tear the bags upon withdrawal of the scoop. This tearing may result in lost product and increased system down time.
Several drawbacks exist in prior automated bagging systems. First, some systems carry out many steps, requiring complex mechanical components in conjunction with sophisticated computer control technology. More particularly, bagging systems often use complicated systems to open, clamp and hold a bag in an open position. Each mechanical component often serves only a single functional purpose. Second, the air supply usually does not adequately direct the air into the bag. Because of wicketed mounting and thin membrane-like construction, bags have a proclivity to stick to each other. As a result, the air in prior systems often blows into the top or the side of the bag at an angle close to the horizontal, allowing the air stream to catch the interior lip of the bag. The bag thus opens only partially at the top and often remains closed at the bottom. Third, bag clamping mechanisms cause problems in current and prior systems. The clamping mechanisms act to tear the bags or to not give enough support to the bags as the product is dispensed into the bags. The downward force of the product entering the bag from the dispensing mechanism tends to pull the bag from the clamp. These clamps also tend to partially block the opening of the bag as they support the bag. This partial blockage makes the opening to the bags smaller and interferes with the dispensing of the goods.
The inventors have discovered, through the nature of their work and their profession, that the presently utilized systems and methods for opening, supporting and filling premade wicketed bags in an automated bagging system are undesirable.
Thus, there is a need for an improved automated bagging system with multi-functional parts.
There is a further need to provide an automated bagging system that more accurately guides air into the bag to be filled so that the bag becomes fully expanded before filling.
There is a further need to provide an automated bagging system that utilizes a simple clamping device that supports, while at the same time does not tear, the bags.
There is a further need to provide an automated bagging system with a clamp for support of the bag during the time it is being filled that minimizes blockage of the bag opening.